Walnut Creek 2013 Turkey Trot race recap

In yet another case of “do as I say, not as I do,” here’s how my Thanksgiving turkey trot went down. Spoiler: New personal record of 22:59. (Every second counts!)

1. Ate deep dish pizza and drank beer with my dad on Wednesday night.

2. Figured that since my grumpy leg was feeling “mostly” OK, I might as well race a 5k Thursday morning. Oh, and should I mention the fact that my lungs haven’t been at full capacity for a month now?

3. Drove to the Walnut Creek turkey trot and discovered that, yep, there really were thousands of race participants. (There were 5,700 finishers, between the 5k and 10k.) A lot of them wore costumes. Yep, serious race.

4. Got in line between the 7-minute and 8-minute pace signs. Moved forward around a group of kids. Then noticed that a woman in front of me was wearing a backpack purse and sweat pants; moved up past her (good decision, since she and three friends were all in a row to block everyone behind them; I saw her on the out-and-back in the race, about 10 minutes behind me).

5. Ran the first mile in 7:27. Dodged numerous people and children. People who had an official 23:00 or faster 5k to their name had gotten seeded start placement in front of a barrier. I really wanted to be among them.

6. Ran the second mile in 7:17. Nearly fell when a girl in front of me came to a sudden stop because she was tired.

7. Ran the third mile in 7:24. I wanted to walk because my lungs were aching, but I knew I’d regret it.

8. Ran the last 0.15 miles (by my watch) at 6:05 pace. Allegedly. I do recall looking at my watch at 19 minutes and realizing I might have a shot at breaking 23 minutes. I thought of those people with the preferential start corral.

9. Crossed the finish line, found my dad, and discovered that I hadn’t died of oxygen depletion. Success!

10. Knew that I had a new PR (personal record), but had to wait impatiently for the official results. When they came, it turned out that I had run 22:59.5, a PR of 41 seconds and squeezing in under the 23-minute mark with half a second to spare. To say I was happy is an understatement, especially with placement: 2nd of 274 women in my age group; 21st of 2,512 women; and 128th of 4,042 finishers.

Bonus: For the first time in my history of racing, there were FIVE Bohms at this race. I had seen that ahead of time, and my goal was to beat them all, even though I had no idea who they were. Yep, I nailed that goal, too.


3 Responses to Walnut Creek 2013 Turkey Trot race recap

  1. Another race, another PR, nice! And those beers and pizza looked great.

  2. Ah, sweet victory! Fun recap! Awesome performance!

  3. I totally approve of gorging on deep dish pizza and beer before a race. Drink more, run faster.